'Once Upon a Time' exec on Captain Hook: 'We wanted him for a while'

Once Upon a Time co-creator Edward Kitsis has spoken about the introduction of Captain Hook.

It was revealed at the ABC drama's recent Comic-Con panel that the Peter Pan villain will appear in season two.

"Peter Pan is my favorite fairy tale, but for the last year, [co-exec] Adam [Horowitz] and I could not get the rights," Kitsis told TVLine. "So we've had Captain Hook on our shelf… for a while."

Other new characters joining the fantasy series include Sleeping Beauty (Sarah Bolger) and Mulan (Jamie Chung).

"They come into the show in a very surprising and unique way," Kitsis explained. "We're really excited because like everything we've done, we're not interested in retelling you the version that you're used to.

"We feel like we have great spins on both characters, and what we love is how they'll interact with the people we already know and love."

Once Upon a Time returns to ABC this fall. In the UK, the series airs on Channel 5.